Edition: February 2017 Specification: Part S17 Continuous Flight Auger Piles

PART S17

CONTINUOUS FLIGHT AUGER PILES

CONTENTS

1. GENERAL
2. QUALITY REQUIREMENTS
3. MATERIALS
4. PILE CONSTRUCTION
5. TOLERANCES
6. TESTING OF PILES
7. HOLD POINTS
8. RECORDS

1. GENERAL

.1 This Part specifies the requirements for the installation of continuous flight auger (“CFA”) piles. CFA piles
are constructed by using a hollow flight auger to bore the hole, which is filled with concrete or cement grout
injected under pressure as the auger is progressively withdrawn.

.2 The Contractor is responsible for:

(a) providing the detailed design of the piles to achieve the specified design load (unless a detailed design
has been specified by the Principal);
(b) the installation of piles that achieve the design load capacity and design durability; and
(c) verifying that the design load capacity and durability has been achieved in practice.

.3 Unless specified otherwise in the Contract Specific Requirements or on the drawings, piles must be
designed and constructed in accordance with the methods specified in AS 2159 and AS5100.3.

.4 Documents referenced in this Part are listed below:

AS 1012 Methods of testing concrete

AS 1478.2 Chemical admixtures for concrete, mortar and grout – Methods of sampling and
testing admixtures for concrete, mortar and grout

AS 2159 Piling – Design and Installation.

AS 2701.2 Methods of sampling and testing mortar for masonry constructions - Methods of
sampling

AS 3972 Portland and blended cements

AS 5100.3 Bridge Design – Foundations and Soil Supporting Structures.

2. QUALITY REQUIREMENTS

.1 At a minimum, the Contractor’s Quality Plan must include the following documents, procedures and
instructions:
(a) the concrete and / or grout mix design(s), including test results for mix designs, verifying the ability to
achieve specified requirements;
(b) details of proposed boring equipment to be used and evidence of its capacity to carry out the work;
(c) proposed recording forms to be used during construction and testing;
(d) methodology to ensure pile location and verticality tolerances are met;
(e) methodology for measuring penetration rate and torque during augering;
(f) procedure for ensuring that each pile has achieved the required design founding conditions;
(g) procedure for monitoring the extraction rate of the auger over the full length of the pile shaft;
(h) procedure for measurement and monitoring of pressure in the delivery line to ensure that positive
pressure is maintained at all times during concreting or grouting;

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Edition: February 2017 Specification: Part S17 Continuous Flight Auger Piles

(i) methodology and equipment to provide a continuous record of concrete or grout flow rate and auger
extraction rate to ensure that no section of pile contains less than the theoretical volume of concrete or
grout;
(j) the corrective action procedure to be taken if supply pressure and/or flow rate is not maintained during
concreting or grouting, or the construction process is interrupted;
(k) procedure for installation of the reinforcement cage, including spacer details and fixing and the method
of ensuring minimum cover to reinforcement;
(l) method of cutting and breaking back of piles; and
(m) details of the proposed integrity test and load test methods, including the name and qualifications of
any specialist sub-contractors and a method statement of how the test will be carried out and details
of the record sheets proposed for monitoring results.

.2 If not provided beforehand, the documentation must be submitted at least 28 days prior to the
commencement of piling works.

.3 Provision of the documentation listed in this Clause shall constitute a HOLD POINT.

3. MATERIALS

.1 Concrete must be in accordance with Part CC20 "Supply of Concrete" and reinforcement must be in
accordance with Part CC05 "Steel Reinforcement". Longitudinal reinforcement must be supplied in full
lengths.

.2 Grout must consist of cement, water and an admixture to reduce shrinkage and bleeding. Cement must
conform to the requirements of AS 3972 for normal Portland cement and must be free from calcium
chloride.

.3 Admixtures must not contain chlorides, nitrates or similar electrolytic conducting materials and may only be
used where they will increase workability or reduce shrinkage and bleeding.

.4 The design strength of grout piles must be calculated using the additional strength reduction factors given
in AS 2159 and based on the suitability of the grout mix for the soil conditions.

4. PILE CONSTRUCTION
Protection of Adjacent Piles or Structures

.1 The Contractor must:

(a) minimise vibration during construction;
(b) ensure that services, adjacent structures or newly cast piles are not damaged during pile construction;
(c) not commence pile construction within 2.0 metres clear distance of a newly cast pile (or within three
pile diameters, whichever is the greater) until the concrete or grout in the pile has attained a strength
of 15 MPa; and
(d) locate construction equipment at sufficient distance from the pile being drilled and from recently
constructed piles to avoid displacement of the column of concrete or grout.
Pile Construction

.2 The piling rig and length of flights on the auger must be sufficient to allow construction of the pile in a
single pass of the auger

.3 The introduction of air under pressure through the hollow stem of the auger during installation of the pile is
not permitted.

.4 When the auger has reached the design toe level the foundation material must be confirmed in
accordance with the Contractor’s installation procedure, including reference to soils data, penetration rate
of the auger and torque, or the toe level adjusted in accordance with the design requirements.

.5 Where piles are founded on rock, they must extend the specified minimum distance into rock of the type
and quality shown on the drawings.

.6 Pile shafts must be formed by injecting concrete or grout in an uninterrupted operation as the auger is
extracted.

.7 The method of maintaining positive pressure in the pumping equipment, and the method of maintaining an
oversupply rate for concrete or grout must be in accordance with the Contractor’s installation procedure.

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Edition: February 2017 Specification: Part S17 Continuous Flight Auger Piles

.8 The Contractor must ensure that earth and rock do not dislodge from the side of the hole or from the
ground around the top of the pile and contaminating the concrete or grout and reducing the minimum cover
to reinforcement.

.9 A minimum of 400 mm of sound concrete or grout must be constructed above the final level of the pile.
Any space between the top of the pile and the ground surface must be filled with sand within 30 minutes of
placing the shaft concrete or grout. Piles must not be trimmed earlier than 24 hours after casting the
concrete or grout.
Sampling and Testing

.10 Concrete must be sampled and tested in accordance with Part CC20 “Supply of Concrete”.

.11 Grout must be sampled from each truckload of grout supplied during pile installation. Cube samples of
grout must be taken in accordance with AS 2701.2 and must be tested in accordance with AS 1012 to
determine the compressive strength.

.12 Bleeding must be tested in accordance with the requirements of AS 1478.2, and must not exceed 2% of
the volume three hours after mixing and must not exceed 4% of the volume at any time. All separated
water must be reabsorbed within 24 hours. Shrinkage must not exceed 750 microstrain.

5. TOLERANCES

.1 Piles must be constructed to within the following tolerances:

(a) pile head must finish within 75 mm of the specified plan position;
(b) variation from the vertical must not be more than 1 in 50; and
(c) minimum cover to reinforcement must be 75 mm.

6. TESTING OF PILES
Integrity Testing

.1 Integrity testing must be carried out on the piles in accordance with integrity test methods specified in
AS 2159. Integrity testing equipment must be capable of checking cross-sectional irregularities in piles
and identifying the location and characteristics of any significant anomalies such as voids or contaminants.

.2 Acceptance criteria, supervision and reporting of integrity testing must be in accordance with the
requirements of AS 2159.

.3 Unless specified otherwise, integrity testing must be carried out on all piles.
Load testing

.4 The Contractor must carry out dynamic testing of piles to confirm that design pile capacity has been
achieved. At least one dynamic load test must be performed for every 30 piles. Additional dynamic load
testing must also be carried out on piles in the event that pile toe levels vary by more than 2 metres from
the test pile.

.5 Testing must be carried out by use of a Pile Driving Analyser (PDA) and the data obtained from each pile
must be analysed using CAPWAP, TNOWAVE or other approved equivalent software.

.6 Additional load testing requirements (including static load tests) may be specified in the Contract Specific
Requirements or on the drawings.

.7 The test procedure and test reports must conform with the requirements of AS 2159, and two copies of a
report showing the measured field parameters and the results of analysis to determine pile capacity must
be provided to the Superintendent.

.8 The measured ultimate capacity of test piles must be equal to or greater than the pile test load specified in
the Contract Specific Requirements or on the drawings.
Test Results

.9 Submission of the test results shall constitute a HOLD POINT.

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Edition: February 2017 Specification: Part S17 Continuous Flight Auger Piles

7. HOLD POINTS

.1 The following is a summary of Hold Points referenced in this Part:

CLAUSE
HOLD POINT RESPONSE TIME
REF.

2 Submission of Quality Documentation 14 working days

6. Submission of test results following the installation of a group of 6 hours

piles

8. RECORDS

The Contractor must provide continuous records for each pile. The data recorded must include the following:
(a) Diameter, length, location and type of pile and date of boring;
(b) Concrete or grout batch details, properties and slump;
(c) Data recorded during installation of piles as specified in the Quality Plan;
(d) All information regarding obstructions, delays and other interruptions to the sequence of work;
(e) Integrity testing results; and
(f) Load testing results.

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